Spanglish Songs Ruled 2017

Latinos owned music last year. “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber was undeniably the song of summer 2017. The original song was released in January and was already making headlines, but when Bieber remixed the song in April, its popularity took off. The record quickly became a global hit and broke ground as the most streamed song in history.

(Photo by: John Parra/Telemundo/NBCU Photo Bank)

“Despacito” is nominated for three Grammys: including two of the night’s top awards — Record of the Year and Song of the Year — as well as Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The song could even make history for winning Song of the Year or Record of the Year, considering those categories have never been won by a Spanish song before.

How does a mostly Spanish song score top nominations at the most prestigious night in music? More than 4.6 billion views on YouTube, making it the most watched YouTube video in history; a record-breaking 16 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart; and of course Justin Bieber.

Bieber wasn’t the only mainstream artist to tap into Latin music last year. Here’s a look at other artists who were featured in Spanish songs in 2017.